Music Friday: Learn From Mistakes and 'Make Them Gold,' Urges Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you new tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Lauren Mayberry of the Scottish synthpop band Chvrches (pronounced churches) implores her young fans to embrace their mistakes and "make them gold."

Written by band members Iain Andrew Cook, Martin Clifford Doherty and Mayberry, "Make Them Gold" is an empowerment anthem that reinforces the notion that nobody is perfect and mistakes are actually a blessing in disguise. They're an essential part of the process of building skills, confidence and attaining one's goals.

She sings, "We are made up of our mistakes / We are falling but not alone / We will take the best parts of ourselves / And make them gold."

Gold, in this case, symbolizes perfection, success and something of great value.

"Make Them Gold" appeared as the fourth track of the group's second studio album, Every Open Eye. Released in 2015, the album went to #1 on both the U.S. Billboard Top Alternative Albums and U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums charts. It was also an international success, charting in 16 countries, including Scotland, Sweden, Australia and the UK.

Gathering their inspiration from Madonna, Eurythmics, Prince, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Death Cab for Cutie and Cyndi Lauper, among others, the band members write, record, mix and master their songs in Glasgow, Scotland.

The odd spelling of Chvrches is attributed to a general concern about how the band may — or may not be — found on the internet. When the band was formed in 2011, the three members had chosen Churches as the name, but changed it to Chvrches with a Roman letter "v" instant of a "u" because they didn't think they'd have a chance to come up at the top of a "churches" search result.

"After we decided on [the name], we realized it was more or less impossible to Google," Doherty told Interview magazine. "There's a girl called Amy who's designed all of our artwork. She'd already stylized the logo with the "V" in it. It kind of felt natural just to go with that. Now, we don't have to compete with anyone, which is cool."

Trivia: Just a few weeks ago, the band appeared in the heart of Texas at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Please check out the video of Chvrches' live performance of "Make Them Gold." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Make Them Gold"
Written by Iain Andrew Cook, Lauren Eve Mayberry and Martin Clifford Doherty. Performed by Chvrches.

Can you tell me what to have
And what to hold
If you never take the way
On your own

No one tells us what is hard
And what is fair
We will deliver once we know
Where to fall

We are made up of our mistakes
We are falling but not alone
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

We are made of the smallest stars
We are breathing and letting go
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

Can you steady all the hands
That you hold
If you never look away
From the drum

If you push yourself then I
Will pull you up
And we will deliver once we know
Where to fall

We are made up of our mistakes
We are falling but not alone
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

We are made of the smallest stars
We are breathing and letting go
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

I will wait to see if you come at all
To stop us falling out of phase
Let's see if we can keep
Track of losing days

You'd smile so wide i can see the stars
To stop us falling out of phase
I will be with you in the fray
With those second thoughts

You asked for all you asked for

We are made up of our mistakes
We are falling but not alone
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

We are made of the smallest stars
We are breathing and letting go
We will take the best parts of ourselves
And make them gold

And make them gold

Credit: Image capture via YouTube.com.

Made Famous by Marilyn Monroe, 'Moon of Baroda' Diamond to Hit the Auction Block in Hong Kong

Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe sang "Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend" and wore the 24-carat Moon of Baroda diamond while promoting the Howard Hawks film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1953.

"It’s gorgeous!" Monroe gasped when she first set eyes on the pear-shaped, VS2, canary yellow stone. It was the largest diamond she ever wore in her lifetime.

Despite its historical ties to the Maharajas of India and the legendary Golconda mines near Hyderabad, it was an adoring Monroe who helped catapult the Moon of Baroda to international fame.

On November 27, after 18 years in a private collection, the Moon of Baroda will regain the spotlight at Christie's Magnificent Jewels Sale in Hong Kong. The pre-sale estimate is $510,300 to $765,450. When the same stone hit the auction block at Christie's New York in 1990, it fetched $297,000.

This time around, the winning bidder will get a bonus — an autographed publicity shot of the glamorous Monroe wearing the Moon of Baroda. On the photo she wrote, "Thanks for the chance to wear the Moon of Baroda — Marilyn Monroe."

“It’s really hard to give an estimate to such a legendary and historical stone," Christie’s Connie Luk told The Hollywood Reporter. "We give the estimate based on the market price of a 24-carat yellow diamond. We believe that the historical value will add to the price.”

According to Christie's, the Moon of Baroda was likely discovered between the 15th and 17th centuries and owned by the Gaekwads of Baroda, one of India’s wealthiest and most powerful ruling families.

It was later sent by the Gaekwad family to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the only female monarch of the Habsburg dynasty. The diamond was returned to the Gaekwad family and set into a necklace in the mid-1800s. The Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad sold it to an unknown buyer in the early 1920s.

The stone was acquired by Cleveland diamond cutter Samuel H. Deutsch in 1944 and sold to Meyer Rosenbaum, president of Detroit-based Meyer Jewelry Company, in 1953. It was Rosenbaum who loaned the diamond to Monroe for her publicity tour.

Luk told The Hollywood Reporter that the anonymous current buyer had a hard time parting with the famous stone.

“We paid him a visit almost every year to ask him if he’s interested in selling, and we were quite persistent," she said. "And finally, this year he said yes to us.”

Credits: Images courtesy of Christie's.

Golden State Warriors Unveil the First-Ever Reversible Championship Rings

The Golden State Warriors kicked off a new season with a ring ceremony last Tuesday to commemorate their 2017-18 championship run, and as expected, they’re opulent.

The rings’ most interesting feature is the reversible top, the first-of-its-kind for a championship ring. The head of the ring, which can be completely detached from its band, has a centerpiece that can be flipped from blue to white, the Warriors' primary colors. Twisting off the top of the ring reveals the slogan ‘Strength in Numbers’ etched in gold.

There are 56 diamonds set on the right side of the ring to commemorate the number of years the team has been in the San Francisco Bay area. The left side features the player’s name and number, Bay Bridge and “Just Us” slogan. There is an interesting bristly texture (as though it were swept with a broom), celebrating the four-game sweep of the Cavaliers in the 2018 final. The top is a perfect circle to match the footprint of Oracle Arena, the Warriors' current home. And that's just for starters.

There are two trophies on top of the ring, signifying the team’s back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. The 2017 trophy is 17-karat gold and has .17 carats of white diamonds; the 2018 trophy is 18-karat gold and has .18 carats of white diamonds. Each side has 74 sapphires and diamonds to represent the combined number of wins in the regular season and the playoffs.

When you've won three NBA championships in the past four years (only the 13th team ever to complete such a feat), your championship ring needs some extra bling. Designer Jason Arasheben, aka Jason of Beverly Hills, created the technically challenging rings composed of nearly 20 pieces.

“The highlight of the ring is clearly the reversible feature from the top of the ring. Jason of Beverly Hills really brought something new to the ring design game, and executed his vision beautifully,” stated a Warriors’ spokesperson.

On Tuesday night, as the Warriors headed to the floor in white jackets with “The Champions” inscribed in gold, the team’s accomplishments were announced over the public-address system — dominance practically unheard of in NBA history.

Credits: Images via Twitter/Golden State Warriors; Instagram/Jason of Beverly Hills.